Screw Caps and Cork
The cork used in wine is one of the most important aspects of keeping wine fresh. Because many people ask this question, we usually see New World wines, especially in Australia, which use screw caps more often. However, Old World wines, and some of the highest quality and most expensive wines in the world, are still corked today.
Needless to say, the benefits of cork are traditional, ceremonial and much more beautiful. As far as quality is concerned, cork is considered to have a breathing function. It is not completely isolated from the air, but has a respiratory effect. It is believed that it can bring about better aging changes in wine bottles.
But cork also has its drawbacks. For example, if the cork is in a dry place, such as Beijing, if the cork is dry, there will be too much air and the wine will deteriorate. Therefore, if the wine at home is corked, do not stand up, but always lie down. The wine will not pass through the cork to keep the cork moist. Also, it is best to keep it in a relatively humid place.
Of course, you can drink it a month or two after you buy it. Lying down is not a big problem, but if you want to live a long time, you’d better have a wine cooler to keep it warm and away from light. Also, if the cabinet doesn’t have automatic humidification, you may need to spray water regularly to keep the humidity up, as Beijing is so dry.
Another concern with cork is that it can be contaminated. Cork has the potential to be contaminated with wine, which comes from the plant itself. If it is infected with cork flavor, the cork actually does not taste like normal cork. When we taste wine, we usually say that the cork taste has the flavor of contaminated cork. Every million miles, even high-end wines can become infected with cork. This is indeed a problem encountered in the production of old world cork. It is a flaw that cork cannot overcome.
On the contrary, it is also an advantage of spiral malting. The spiral buds are killed without the corky taste and without the corky taste contaminating the wine. However, spiral buds have a shortcoming that prevents the wine from breathing, it isolates 100% of the wine from the air. Thus, the debate between the screw cap and the cork will be discussed for many years to come. After all, there is a bit of a ritual to drinking wine, and the Spiral sprout lacks a bit of ritual, so the Spiral sprout cannot be avoided. I won’t draw conclusions about the pros and cons of familiarity. Listen to me and find out the pros and cons for yourself.
